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(I sometimes wonder if the Left and their willing accomplices in the media are hoping that people forget everything they were told so that the crisis can start anew each day.
Witness this opinion from the pages of the Bozeman Chronicle, reproduced below. The Chronicle is concerned about a survey given to teens which discovered that those teens are using cell phones while driving. However, the City of Bozeman passed a no-cell-phone ordinance in 2011, which the Chronicle dutifully reported. I subsequently wrote an editorial, which was published in their own pages, in which I demolished the whole idea of a cell phone ordinance.
So fast forward to present day. The Chronicle, distraught that our children are engaging in risky behavior, writes an editorial that centers on only one of those risky behaviors, a behavior currently illegal in Bozeman.
Wow, I thought the passage of the law solved the problem.
Anyway, on to the article.
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The latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows some encouraging trends in Montana teens’ behavior on things like alcohol consumption and drug use. But one particularly troubling behavior is showing signs of worsening: cell phone use for texting and talking while driving.
The survey is conducted annually by the state Office of Public Instruction and consists of some 99 questions pertaining to all forms of risky behavior.
Statewide, 61 percent of teens report using a cell phone, while 56 percent say they text while driving. Thankfully, Gallatin County teens report lower rates for cell phone use (41 percent) and texting (36 percent) while driving. (We can imply that the cell phone ordinance may have had some effect on teen cell phone use, but we don't know since the survey was for the entire county. Whether it has had any effect on the frequency of injuries or death is anyone's guess.)
But any instances of these activities are too many.
As people nationwide increasingly engage in these dangerous behaviors, troubling statistics are emerging.
According to distraction.gov, a federal government website on distracted driving, 3,331 people died in traffic accidents involving a distracted driver 2011, up from 3,267 the previous year. Another 387,000 were injured in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2011. (Hmm. From the 2011 Chronicle article: "5,474 people died and another 448,000 were hurt in crashes involving all forms of distracted driving in 2009." Notice, those 2009 numbers are much HIGHER than the 2011 numbers. So the 2010 numbers were a slight bump, but 2010 and 2011 are substantially lower than 2009. In other words, the numbers are getting BETTER.)
The use of handheld phones while driving triples the chance of getting in an accident, according to the website. Sending or reading a text takes the driver’s eyes off the road an average of 4.6 seconds, which means that driver is driving blind for the length of a football field if traveling at 55 mph.
Eleven percent of drivers under 20 involved in fatal accidents were distracted when the crash occurred. And for 15 to 19-year-old drivers in fatal crashes, 21 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by cell phones. (Let's do some math. In fatal accidents, 11% of teens were distracted. Of those, 21% were distracted by cell phones. This means that 2.31% of all fatal teen driver crashes are attributable to cell phone distraction. So what about the other 97.69% of fatal accidents? Is the Chronicle at all concerned about them?)
Twenty-five percent of teens nationwide respond to a text at least once every time they drive. Twenty percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit they have engaged in lengthy text conversations while driving.
We need to be vigilant about risky teen behavior, and it is encouraging that the survey shows that drinking, smoking and drug use are generally on the decline.
But it’s time to start talking seriously to kids about cell phone use while driving. As these behaviors become more common, they are likely to eclipse many other risky behaviors as causes of teen deaths.
And those deaths are preventable. (Like by passing a cell phone ordinance? Oh, wait...)
Witness this opinion from the pages of the Bozeman Chronicle, reproduced below. The Chronicle is concerned about a survey given to teens which discovered that those teens are using cell phones while driving. However, the City of Bozeman passed a no-cell-phone ordinance in 2011, which the Chronicle dutifully reported. I subsequently wrote an editorial, which was published in their own pages, in which I demolished the whole idea of a cell phone ordinance.
So fast forward to present day. The Chronicle, distraught that our children are engaging in risky behavior, writes an editorial that centers on only one of those risky behaviors, a behavior currently illegal in Bozeman.
Wow, I thought the passage of the law solved the problem.
Anyway, on to the article.
---------------------------
The latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows some encouraging trends in Montana teens’ behavior on things like alcohol consumption and drug use. But one particularly troubling behavior is showing signs of worsening: cell phone use for texting and talking while driving.
The survey is conducted annually by the state Office of Public Instruction and consists of some 99 questions pertaining to all forms of risky behavior.
Statewide, 61 percent of teens report using a cell phone, while 56 percent say they text while driving. Thankfully, Gallatin County teens report lower rates for cell phone use (41 percent) and texting (36 percent) while driving. (We can imply that the cell phone ordinance may have had some effect on teen cell phone use, but we don't know since the survey was for the entire county. Whether it has had any effect on the frequency of injuries or death is anyone's guess.)
But any instances of these activities are too many.
As people nationwide increasingly engage in these dangerous behaviors, troubling statistics are emerging.
According to distraction.gov, a federal government website on distracted driving, 3,331 people died in traffic accidents involving a distracted driver 2011, up from 3,267 the previous year. Another 387,000 were injured in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2011. (Hmm. From the 2011 Chronicle article: "5,474 people died and another 448,000 were hurt in crashes involving all forms of distracted driving in 2009." Notice, those 2009 numbers are much HIGHER than the 2011 numbers. So the 2010 numbers were a slight bump, but 2010 and 2011 are substantially lower than 2009. In other words, the numbers are getting BETTER.)
The use of handheld phones while driving triples the chance of getting in an accident, according to the website. Sending or reading a text takes the driver’s eyes off the road an average of 4.6 seconds, which means that driver is driving blind for the length of a football field if traveling at 55 mph.
Eleven percent of drivers under 20 involved in fatal accidents were distracted when the crash occurred. And for 15 to 19-year-old drivers in fatal crashes, 21 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by cell phones. (Let's do some math. In fatal accidents, 11% of teens were distracted. Of those, 21% were distracted by cell phones. This means that 2.31% of all fatal teen driver crashes are attributable to cell phone distraction. So what about the other 97.69% of fatal accidents? Is the Chronicle at all concerned about them?)
Twenty-five percent of teens nationwide respond to a text at least once every time they drive. Twenty percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit they have engaged in lengthy text conversations while driving.
We need to be vigilant about risky teen behavior, and it is encouraging that the survey shows that drinking, smoking and drug use are generally on the decline.
But it’s time to start talking seriously to kids about cell phone use while driving. As these behaviors become more common, they are likely to eclipse many other risky behaviors as causes of teen deaths.
And those deaths are preventable. (Like by passing a cell phone ordinance? Oh, wait...)
I think texting one of the main reason you get distracted from driving. it will be good if you can avoid texting while you are driving. in many places texting or use of cell phone is illegal while driving.
ReplyDeleteDriving School Worcester
Isn't much I can say in response, since I dealt with all of your points already.
Delete